'60s soul revisited

Don't Give Up On Me
Solomon Burke
Fat Possum Solomon Burke was one of the original soul music pioneers, with early influential singles like "Cry To Me" and "Everybody Needs Somebody To Love." Unfortunately, like many other great voices who have had to rely heavily on producers, patrons and songwriters, he was passed over for younger and more hip models. Possibly, in order to gain attention for his newest record, and hopefully out of deep respect, he asked several well-known songsmiths to craft tunes for him. It is truly an all-star cast. Don't Give Up On Me's songwriting credits include Van Morrison, Tom Waits, Brian Wilson, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, Nick Lowe and Mann and Weil to name a few. The harrowing aspect of the album is that most of the songwriters deliver the goods not only with brilliant songs, but with songs that Burke sounds completely at home singing. For the most part, the music on the album is sparse and stays out of the way of Burke's voice. In that respect, it compares to Johnny Cash's American Recordings series. The sound is rooted in a rich, creeping organ and nightclub drum beats, creating the perfect mood for the themes of the album, which are strictly determinist and borderline apocalyptic. The gem of the album is Dylan's "Stepchild," which is no surprise since this album could easily be mistaken for Time Out of Mind. Burke sounds absolutely beside himself singing the song, howling out the words like it's a story he knows all too well -- "oh, you're treatin' me like a stepchild!" Albums like these have become a fad. Some producer or indie-label executive wants to record some patriarch of the past and show that they never lost what made them great in the first place. Good records like Burke's, or those by Cash, Buddy Guy and Ralph Stanley, have been real treats in recent years, though. These recordings are by no means revolutionary, but they are giving us fans and the artists themselves some much need affirmation.